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Enduring Democracy Class Fleet Carrier
The Enduring Democracy class (also known as simply Democracy class) is a class of eight fleet carriers in service with United American Federation Navy. The Democracy class carriers are the backbone of the UAFN with each ship leading one of Central Command's eight Carrier Battle Groups. Each ship has a complement of over 1200 varying spacecraft that fill a myriad of roles. In 2219, only two of the eight ships are on active duty, three are undergoing maintenance and retrofitting, and the remaining three are undergoing training. Each ship in the class is named after the ideals of the United American Federation. Description Design and Construction In the early 2290s the UAFN began design work on a new class of carrier to replace the aging Constitution class carriers as Central Command's main fleet carrier. It was to be the largest class of carrier ever built and carry the largest spacecraft complement a carrier has ever held. After 11 years of design work, the class was given funding for construction to begin in the 2204 defense budget passed by the Federal Assembly. Later that year, American Interstellar Shipbuilding Industries (AISI) won the Navy's contract competition to build eight of the newly minted Enduring Democracy class carriers. The carriers were each constructed at AISI's orbital shipyards orbiting Trappist-1c and Trappist-1d. Two carriers were constructed at at time, one at each of AISI's two shipyards. The construction of each carrier took three years; the last two ships were completed and commissioned in 2217. Spacecraft Complement F-51 The Democracy class' main spacecraft is the F-51 multirole starfighter of which the ship carries 720. These starfighters perform many different operations from combat space patrol to massive starfighter strikes against enemy fleets. The use of these starfighters is not strictly dictated by UAF doctrine rather it is often left to the ship's captain to decide how to best use his available fighters in a combat situation. Some captains have favored keeping the vast majority to defend the Carrier Battle Group while others have shown a tendency to send large amounts to attack enemy ships. U-28 The U-28 is the primary combat drone of the UAFN and the Democracy class carries 360 of them. These drones are used primarily for offensive missions though they do have the ability to defend against enemy starfighters. The combat drones are often used to perform high-risk high-reward attacks since losses are not an issue and the drones themselves are relatively cheap to manufacture. A-10 When a piloted craft is desired for an offensive mission, Democracy class captains call upon the 90 A-10s they carry. The A-10 is a dedicated naval attack fighter used to deliver fatal blows to enemy ships. It is one of the rare single-role spacecraft that the UAFN employs, but it is extremely effective in its only role. W-2 Democracy class carriers carry 20 W-2 Early Warning Shuttles. In a combat situation, W-2s are usually deployed in a wide ring around the Carrier Battle Group to provide information on enemy ships and starfighters and give the CBG ample time to prepare for any threats it may encounter. C-7 The C-7 is a remote command shuttle that helps officers to direct the huge amount of spacecraft that a Democracy class ship deploys in a combat situation. The C-7 was deemed necessary by the UAFN because of the sheer number of spacecraft the Democracy class deploys and planners worried that communication and orders would be difficult to coordinate for groups of fighters far away from the ship. A large group of spacecraft embarking on a mission are often accompanied by a C-7. L-96 The L-96 is a shuttle used for the logistical purposes of many UAFN ships. The L-96 is equipped with an FTL drive which is necessary for the shuttle's task. Its job is to resupply the ship with whatever it may need during a deployment by making trips back and forth from the carrier and supply bases. The L-96 is also used for supplying any ground troops are carrier may deploy. Defensive Systems Adaptive Shielding System The Adaptive Shielding System is the UAF's most modern shielding technology. The shielding system is integrated with the ships sensor array which allows the shields to modulate the frequency on which they operate to provide optimal protection against specific threats. Different parts of the shield can operate on different frequencies from one other allowing for unparalleled protection. In emergency situations, the carrier can transfer most of its power to the shielding system and extend its own shields over most of the Carrier Battle Group although not for more than a few minutes. Any weapon smaller than a mass accelerator would have to continuously get direct hits for hours to disable the shields, far longer than is realistically possible. Even a mass accelerator would have to score several direct hits to cripple this advanced system. Projectile Neutralization System The Projectile Neutralization System™ (PNS) is a proprietary naval defense system created by United Defense Innovations. The PNS operates through several dozen miniature railguns and a its own separate computer system tied into the ship's targeting system. Specialized guided railgun shots lock on to incoming projectiles and attempts to destroy them before they can hit the shields. The PNS is used against projectiles to fast for the point defense lasers to track and destroy Laser Reciprocation System The Laser Reciprocation System™ (LNS) is another proprietary defense system created by United Defense Innovations. The LNS is similar to its laser refraction cousins but instead of simply refracting lasers the LNS attempts to redirect lasers back at the enemy who fired them. The LNS success rate has only been around 50% in simulations and live tests, but when it does succeed its power is devestating. The LNS system is currently equipped on only two of the carriers, the UFS Liberty and Justice and the UFS Rights of Man. Propulsion Systems The Democracy class carriers are powered by the UAF's most advanced reactors, six super cold fusion reactors. These reactors provide power to the ship's massive engines and anything else on the ship that requires power. The reactors operate at 96% energy efficiency, far higher than its predecessor or any on reactor that the GGR has available. For FTL travel, the Democracy class carriers are equipped with four Pinpoint FTL drives. The Pinpoint drives allow for much more precise FTL travel as well as significant course adjustments while traveling in FTL. Four such drives are required for a ship as massive as the Democracy class carriers. Support Systems Targeting and Navigational Systems The ships targeting and navigational systems are both run entirely by the ships computer systems. Some captains were apprehensive about turning over such critical systems entirely to computers but the efficiency boost has persuaded all but the most stubborn captains that it was the right move. Cyber and Electronic Warfare Suites The cyber and electronic warfare suites allow the ships to engage in signals warfare as well as conventional combat. The cyber warfare suite is responsible for attacking enemy computer systems and defending its own while the electronic warfare suite is responsible for attacking and defending the other critical electronic systems a ship depends on. Combat Drone Construction Facility Each Democracy class ship comes outfitted with its own combat drone construction facility. These facilities can replenish all 360 drones that a ship carries in about a week. These facilities allow for carrier captains to send their drone forces on even more high-risk missions without worrying about diminishing the ship's attacking abilities. Ships in Class * UFS Enduring Democracy * UFS Rights of Man * UFS Freedom from Tyranny * UFS Return to Sol * UFS Liberty and Justice * UFS Separation of Powers * UFS Eternal Republic * UFS Domestic Tranquility Service History Trivia * The motto of the UFS Freedom from Tyranny is "Sic Semper Tyrannis". * Crew members aboard the UFS Rights of Man have nicknamed their spacecraft complement "the Bill of Rights". Some crew members of British ancestry attempted to change the nickname to "the Magna Carta" but were ultimately unsuccessful. * The motto of the UFS Domestic Tranquility is "general welfare, common defense". Both the name of the ship and its motto comes from the preamble to the United States Constitution. * The motto of the UFS Enduring Democracy is "semper libertatem".